1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to closable and sealable containers for liquids, and more particularly to a liquid container particularly adapted (but not limited) for use as a beverage container. The present container is preferably configured in the form of a bottle having a relatively narrow neck and openable closure at one end, with a wider base and openable closure at the opposite base end. Means are provided for inverting the bottle with the narrow end down, removing the closure from the now upturned wider end, and locking it onto the narrow end closure to provide a stable support for the inverted bottle.
2. Description of the Related Art
The bottle having a relatively narrow neck and wider base has been proven to be a popular and practical shape for serving as a liquid container. The relatively narrow neck provides a small opening which is easily closed and from which liquids (at least those of low viscosity) may be readily poured. The small mouth of such bottles also makes a convenient drinking dispenser for beverages consumed directly from the bottle, with the mouth of the consumer generally closely fitting the mouth of the bottle to preclude spillage.
However, such bottles with their relatively narrow openings also have certain drawbacks. For example, in many cases it is desirable to drink a beverage from a more conventional glass having a wide opening at its upper end. There may be practical considerations for such a container configuration, e.g., allowing the liquid to xe2x80x9cbreathexe2x80x9d before or during consumption, as well as esthetic reasons.
Another important practical point is that hot beverages are difficult, and potentially hazardous, to consume from a narrow necked bottle. The development of microwave technology for heating foods and beverages has made it easy to heat a liquid within a bottle without overheating the container itself. However, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to sip a liquid from such a narrow necked opening and to avoid ingesting too large a quantity at any one time, which would result in burning the mouth of the consumer. Traditionally, hot beverages are taken from containers having wide openings (cups, glasses, etc.) which permit the consumer to sip the hot beverage slowly to avoid burning the mouth.
Another characteristic of narrow necked bottles and containers is their reluctance to pour relatively viscous liquids (e.g., ketchup, etc.). While it may be possible to pour the desired quantity from a nearly full bottle, it becomes considerably more difficult as the contents are depleted from the bottle, particularly if the bottle has been-stored in an upright position. A wider opening for the container would greatly facilitate access to the remaining contents of such a viscous liquid.
Accordingly, a need will be seen for a liquid container with opposed openings, with the container having a relatively wide end and an opposite relatively narrow end. Each end includes an openable closure, so the contents of the bottle may be accessed from either the wide or narrow end of the container, as desired. The wider closure may be removed from its corresponding container end and locked to the closure of the narrow end, thus providing a relatively wide support base for the container in its inverted orientation with the narrow neck end positioned downwardly. This allows a consumer to drink from the wider opening of the bottle, while providing good support for the bottle to hold the wider opening upwards as desired.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventor is aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 611,520 issued on Sep. 27, 1898 to Charles S. Smith, titled xe2x80x9cBottle For Holding Spirits Or Other Liquids And Aerated Waters Separated Until Bottle Is Opened,xe2x80x9d describes a bottle having opposite interconnected compartments therein. A stopper is placed between the two, from the larger chamber. The larger chamber is then filled with a liquid under pressure (e.g., seltzer water) to hold the internal stopper in place, the larger chamber is sealed, and the smaller chamber is filled with a liquid (distilled liquor, etc.) and sealed. Removal of the stopper from the larger chamber releases the pressure therein, allowing the intermediate stopper to fall free and the two liquids to mix together. From the above, it is clear that the Smith bottle is intended for only a single use, as any remaining mixture of the liquids would not retain the original carbonated character For long after pressure release. While the present double ended bottle may be used as a single serving container, the two opposite closures also provide for resealing the bottle as desired. Moreover, the two opposed closures cannot be connected to one another, to support the bottle in an inverted orientation with the narrow neck disposed downwardly, as in the case of the present invention. In any case, there is no motivation for holding the Smith bottle in an inverted position, as the bottom opening is relatively small and centered in the wider base, thus making it extremely difficult to drink from that opening anyway.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,770,480 issued on Jul. 15, 1930 to Abraham Danciger, titled xe2x80x9cBeverage Container,xe2x80x9d describes a bottle having an opening at both ends thereof. One opening is configured for a conventional crimped metal cap, while the opposite opening requires a different type of seal due to the need to pass a stopper therethrough and into the bottle interior. The Danciger bottle and closure assembly is intended to capture sediment at one end of the bottle, as may occur during fermentation, and capture the sediment in the smaller neck of the bottle behind the stopper. The elongate wire rod which passes through the larger seal for manipulating the stopper, precludes use of the larger closure as a base for the bottle regardless of which end it is placed upon. This also precludes installation of the larger closure on the smaller closure
U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,080 issued on Jun. 27, 1961 to Melvin A. Harris, titled xe2x80x9cInverted Bottle Support,xe2x80x9d describes a device for supporting a conventional bottle, either upright or inverted. The device comprises a relatively wide circular plate with a central socket for receiving a specially configured stopper end. The stopper end fits closely within the plate receptacle, so the bottle may be held in an inverted position resting upon the support plate. However, the bottle is conventional, having a closed larger base end. The Harris components are configured to support a conventional bottle either upright or inverted, and no bottle having opposed open ends is disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,517 issued on Aug. 7, 1979 to Hermann Kappler et al., titled xe2x80x9cTubular Container,xe2x80x9d describes a container having ends of equal diameter with closures at each end. However, only one of the end closures of the Kappler et al. device is openable after manufacture. One of the ends is provided with a series of circumferential barbs or ribs, which engage the inner wall of the cylinder to secure this end cap permanently to the cylinder; only the opposite end is openable after manufacture. This is expected, as both ends are the same diameter, and thus there is no need to provide a removable cap or cover at each end, as provided by the present invention with its bottle ends of different diameters. Moreover, Kappler et al. do not provide any means for attaching the removable cap or cover to the opposite end of the container, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,066 issued on Oct. 21, 1986 to John G. Vail, titled xe2x80x9cCombined Insulated Drinking Mug And Megaphone,xe2x80x9d describes a device having a tubular, frustoconical shape with removable closures at, each end thereof. The device may be used to contain a liquid when both closures are installed, or to drink from when the smaller end cap is removed. Removal of both end closures allows the device to be used as a megaphone. However, the larger end cap or closure does not attach to the smaller cap in any way. While Vail notes that the double walled lower cap may be opened for placement of small articles therein, it is noted that the thickness of the larger cap is insufficient to place the smaller cap therein, as is clearly shown in FIG. 4 of the Vail U.S. Patent. In addition, the smaller diameter cap has a rounded, convex outer surface, precluding its use as a resting surface for the assembly. Thus, the only way the device may be stably placed, is upon its larger end.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,241 issued on Aug. 9, 1988 to Richard R. Lang, titled xe2x80x9cContainer with Supplemental Opening For Extracting Contents,xe2x80x9d describes a liquid container having a wide base and narrow neck, with a small opening in or near the base. The Lang container allows the last of a liquid substance to be drained therefrom without inverting the container, by means of the base opening. Lang does not disclose any means of locking the two closures together, and he teaches away from the inversion of the bottle or container, which inversion is permitted by the novel configuration of the closures of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,136 issued on Aug. 25, 1992 to Jeffrey H. Tignor, titled xe2x80x9cDual Opening Squeeze Bottle,xe2x80x9d describes a bottle formed of a flexible plastic material with a relatively small central bottom opening therein. The function of the Tignor bottle is essentially the same as that of the Lang containers discussed immediately above, i.e., to drain the last of a viscous substance from the container without need to invert the container. Tignor accomplishes this by sealing the top of the container and applying pressure to the flexible sides of the bottle, to distend the bottom with its central opening. The cap of the central bottom opening is then removed to drain the material from the bottle. Thus, there is no motivation for Tignor to provide any means for resting his bottle in a stable position upon its normally upper end, as provided by the present invention. Moreover, Tignor does not disclose any means of attaching one closure to the other.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,607 issued on Nov. 3, 1998 to Moheb M. Ibrahim, titled xe2x80x9cDouble Ended Bottle,xe2x80x9d describes a container providing essentially the same function as the devices of the Lang ""241 and Tignor ""136 U.S. Patents discussed above, i.e., to drain the last of a viscous substance therefrom. The Ibrahim container is longitudinally symmetrical, having identically sized openings at each end. Identical caps are provided at each end, with the caps being substantially the same diameter as the bottle, and as one another. Thus, it is not possible to secure one cap to its identically configured opposite with the Tignor bottle, as is possible with the present double ended container invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,332 issued on Mar. 23, 1999 to Yuri Gerner et al., titled xe2x80x9cSolvent Receptacle And Degasser For Use In High Pressure Liquid Chromatography,xe2x80x9d describes an apparatus utilizing a double ended bottle for the solvent reservoir. The bottle appears to be longitudinally symmetrical, with apparently identically configured openings at each end. The lower end of the bottle threads into a fitting which communicates with the fixed vacuum degassing apparatus, while the upper end provides for the attachment of another fitting for delivering recycled fluids back to the bottle. Neither of the fittings may be secured together, which provision is a part of the present invention. Moreover, the fixed configuration of the lower fitting requires that the open lower end of the bottle be secured thereto, as the bottle cannot be inverted with the lower fitting attached.
U.S. Pat. No. D-410,364 issued on Jun. 1, 1999 to Frankie Ramirez et al., titled xe2x80x9cConvertible Travel Cup And Bottle,xe2x80x9d illustrates a design for a pair of mating container components, with one selectively nesting within the other for storage. The second component may be removed, inverted, and reattached to the first component to form a container having a closed bottom end. However, the upper end includes a xe2x80x9csipxe2x80x9d passage and a vent hole, in the manner of travel cups and the like, with no apparent means for closing the two passages. The Ramirez et al. design thus could not be inverted, as the lack of closure for the first component would spill the contents. Moreover, only the two cap components are shown; no intervening bottle or other container is provided.
German Patent Publication No. 74,261 published on Apr. 5, 1894 illustrates a bottle and cup assembly. The bottle appears to have an externally threaded neck, with the cup having an internally threaded base for securing to the neck of the bottle. The cup thus provides a closure for the bottle, and when removed, provides a container from which a liquid may be consumed. While the cup includes a relatively wide base, and might be used to support the bottle in an inverted position, there is no motivation for such a configuration since there is no opening in the base of the bottle.
German Patent Publication No. 3,921,971 published on Jan. 17, 1991 describes (according to the English abstract and drawings) a bottle for inverted suspension within a refrigerator. The bottle has a relatively larger base and small neck, with the neck disposed downwardly for dispensing a liquid therefrom. The smaller, lower cap is plunger actuated for dispensing the liquid therethrough, rather than being closed, as in the present caps. The larger cap is normally disposed atop the wider end of the bottle, but may be removed therefrom and placed beneath the spout of the smaller lower cap to support the bottle thereon. In this configuration, the upper end of the bottle is open for filling. This device differs from the present invention in that the smaller dispensing cap has a passage therethrough and is adapted for dispensing liquids therefrom in an inverted position, whereas the smaller cap of the present bottle is closed and cannot pass liquid therethrough. This is a critical point, as the smaller cap of the ""971 German Patent Publication cannot be positively sealed to the bottle, as can the threaded cap of the present bottle invention. Moreover, the externally threaded neck of the ""971 German bottle is adequate for attaching the surrounding collar of the cap thereto, but does not provide a good contact surface for drinking therefrom. There is no motivation for the ""971 German bottle to provide an internally threaded neck, as it is not intended that the bottle be drunk from directly, whereas the present bottle is intended for such use. Also, the spout of the smaller cap of the ""971 German bottle merely nests in a socket in the larger cap when the larger cap is removed and placed thereunder, rather than being positively locked in place, as in the present double ended bottle. This is an important point, as when the bottle in this configuration is lifted from the underlying surface, the larger cap will remain behind, as it is not positively attached to the smaller cap. The present bottle invention provides positive attachment means for all components.
Finally, German Patent Publication No. 4,109,886 published on Oct. 1, 1992 describes (according to the English abstract and drawings) several embodiments of a truncated conical container with one end being permanently sealed. The drawings show the larger and the smaller diameter ends being either permanently closed or open, in various embodiments. Various means are provided for attaching the larger diameter cap or closure to the smaller diameter end, but there is no means of securing the smaller cap to the larger one, as the two caps are not provided simultaneously in any one embodiment.
None of the above inventions and patents, either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention comprises a liquid container or bottle having opposite ends of unequal diameter, with each end being open. Each end includes a threaded cap or closure therefor, with the bottle ends being internally threaded to provide a smooth contact surface for drinking from the bottle; the mating closures are externally threaded. The larger diameter closure includes a central socket adapted for positively locking to a flange extending from the smaller diameter cap or closure. This configuration allows the smaller cap to be removed from the neck of the bottle and fluid poured or consumed therefrom, as is conventional in bottles having relatively narrow necks. However, the bottle may be inverted with the smaller cap positioned downwardly and the larger diameter disposed upwardly. In this orientation, the larger diameter cap or closure may be removed, with the larger diameter opening allowing a person to drink therefrom as when drinking from a cup, water glass, or the like. The larger diameter closure may be positively locked to the flange of the smaller diameter closure to serve as a wide and stable base for the assembly, if so desired, when the narrow neck of the bottle is positioned downwardly.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a liquid container having a relatively small diameter openable end and an opposite, relatively large diameter openable end, for consuming or dispensing liquid from either end of the container as desired.
It is another object of the invention to provide externally threaded, liquid impervious closures or caps for each end of the container, with each end of the container having corresponding mating internal threads, for providing a smooth external contact surface for drinking directly from the container.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a liquid container having a larger diameter closure which includes a central receptacle therein for securing to the smaller diameter closure as desired, thereby allowing the assembly to be inverted for use as a drinking glass with the smaller diameter neck of the container disposed downwardly, the interlocked closures providing a large diameter, stable base for the assembly.
Still another object of the invention is to provide means for positively locking and securing the larger diameter closure or cap to the smaller diameter closure or cap, thus assuring retention of the larger diameter cap to the remainder of the assembly when the larger diameter cap is secured to the smaller diameter cap and the assembly is lifted.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.